Jon Jones: “I am not a villain; I am not a bad person.”

Few fighters have seen a swing in popularity like UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones. A year ago “Bones” was considered to be a fan-favorite based on his apparent humility in the face of extraordinary talent and in-ring success. Today the 25-year old is one of MMA’s most polarizing figures, likely to draw as many boos as cheers as a result of recent behavior.

Despite having cracked a few times under pressure, Jones still wants the world to know he’s a good person at the end of the day instead of the prima donna he’s been made out to be in media and online.

“I am not a villain; I am not a bad person. I pride myself off of inspiring others,” pled Jones in an interview with MMAWeekly before sourcing where occasionally overconfident demeanor comes from. “For all the people that think I am cocky, it’s like if you really listen to what I talk about, if you talk to me about fighting you may hear something that is a little arrogant because, right now, I train so hard to not even get hit, let alone talk about rousing a fight.”

“I owe it to myself to think of myself in the highest regard, so I am not going to apologize if I am a little full of myself when it comes to MMA,” he concluded.

In an attempt to help his cause, Jones offered up examples of some of the positive things he does for others, though certainly his self-congratulatory tone could call into question the sincerity of his efforts.

“I am the nicest person to everyone who has ever met me. I’m the nicest person to people,” explained Jones. “Every day I walk into Jackson’s gym and I hand out boxes of equipment. I order stuff all the time for my teammates and just give it out. I just give it to people. I am like the nicest person ever.”

Just SHUT UP! When have we ever heard another fighter begging you to believe they’re a good person and saying how they gave away free stuff to prove it? Just shut up and do fighting. Don’t do talking. Don’t do tweeting. Don’t do wrecking Bentley’s while drunk. Don’t tell us what you are. FIGHT if you’re a fighter, and all we need to know will happen then.

If he wanted to hand out equipment and be considered a nice guy for it maybe he should have given Dan Henderson a knee brace to use during training, a gag to Bisping ( probably should get 2 of these so he can keep one for himself) and a GNC gift card for Chael so he can get some protein to help him bulk up for 205.